Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. - Barack Obama

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Paths Not Taken - An alternative history to the "Singapore Story"

I would like to recommend this book i've been reading. Its called Paths Not Taken: Political Pluralism in Post-War Singapore. Its available at bookstores like Borders, Select Books and Kinokuniya.

I wanted to give my readers some excerpts from the book. I'll probably do that later on. Meanwhile this is from Select Books' website about the book,

Singapore's era of pluralism between the 1950s and 1970s is a largely overlooked part of the country's recent history. It was a time of extraordinary cultural, intellectual and political dynamism: students, labour unions, ambitious political contenders and representatives of the various ethnic communities all stepped forward to offer alternate visions of Singapore's future from across the entire political spectrum. They generated ideologies, priorities, perspectives and social visions such as mainstream "official" politics had never known before and has not seen seen since.Most of the papers in this volume were first presented at a conference organised by the Asian Research Institute of the National Univerrsity of Singapore in 2005.

The contributions weave an alternative history to the "Singapore Story". They reveal a cast of significant players who offered real alternatives to the enduring PAP model and not the false starts they have often been portrayed as, thereby illuminating paths that were eventually not taken. This book will remind older Singaporeans of pages from their past and provide a younger generation with a novel perspective of Singapore's past struggles.

And you can read here about the project and conference that led to this book.

Beyond Suspicion?

Click here to read the report Prosperity versus individual rights? Human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Singapore by the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute. Click here for their statement.